Article for CPI Newsletter, Spring 2006

Infant Massage Supports the Developing Baby Brain

By Patricia Gale, CIIM (Certified Instructor of Infant Massage)

Did you know that every touch on a baby’s skin, every word spoken to or around a baby triggers activity in the new brain, making neural connections at a rate we as adults can neither remember nor imagine?  Infant massage, or touching with respect, addresses brain development with a conscious, clear pattern of love and respect  Babies want to be assured they are safe.  They want to learn how to interact with parents and others.  Touch is the primary way to interact with a baby, with the assurance of safety and love. 

Infant massage addresses emotional support and brain development with a conscious and clear pattern of loving touch, respect and love.  During an infant massage class, parents and babies discover the value of reducing life’s plentiful distractions for a little while, so Baby has a chance to focus on the nuances of Mom or Dad, just being in relationship (not diaper changing, feeding, bathing, driving or other routines of living).  Emphasis is on being fully present, settled and available.  The massage moves slowly and lovingly, allowing the infant to savor the nuances of seeing and hearing Mom or Dad.  Baby can take time to connect approving patterns of facial expression and language with an experience of appropriate loving touch. 

The baby’s brain goes through stages of amazing development.  The little brain functions 24 hours a day, drinking in enormous amounts of information during awake time, then sorting and integrating the input during sleep.  Newsweek magazine of August 15, 2005, featured a cover story on the baby brain, reporting that current research gives us an informed picture of what’s occurring.  Babies arrive with advanced power of deduction, and an ability to decipher intricate patterns with strikingly nuanced visual and auditory palettes.  A baby notices differences in facial expression and voice intonation that are imperceptible to adults.   The brain is developing emotionally as well.   Besides basic emotions like happy, sad, and angry, babies are already dealing with complexities of emotion, like frustration, jealousy and empathy, which were once thought to occur much later into toddlerhood.

All parents and babies experiment to discover how to express themselves and be heard.  Touch and voice are the basis for such discovery.  In infant massage class, parents learn qualities of touch, experimenting with different pressures and angles of touch on their own hand or arm, before they begin stroking the baby.  Baby’s power of deduction is supported.   Patterns of movement and language allow the new brain to recognize and participate in respectful interaction.  Mom proceeds with a massage only when she recognizes her baby’s cue to accept in the massage.  A new baby deduces quickly what to expect when Mom offers, “May I massage your leg now?”  If the baby expresses a cue for disengagement, Mom respectfully replies, “OK.  We don’t have to do a massage right now.  I’ll offer again in a little while.  Thank you for letting me know what you prefer.”  This patterned exchange lays the foundation for respectful social interaction through a lifetime and leads to emotional fulfillment, a sense of self worth and a whole lot of fun.